At first glance, Dr. Robert Gallo of Hackensack, New Jersey doesn’t look like Superman. Yet consider his extraordinary powers. He’s the devoted father of a dozen children (9 biological, 3 adopted). He’s a popular OB-GYN who delivers friendly, face-to-face care, and remains on a first-name basis with hundreds of patients through every phase of their lives. He delivers over 200 babies per year.
And he runs his solo practice — meeting the complex demands of HMOs, HIPAA regulations, medical labs, insurance companies, and more — with the help of just three loyal employees. He’s even used iWeb to build an informative, well designed website for his practice — single-handedly.
The Human Factor
Asked how he juggles these seemingly superhuman responsibilities, Gallo responds with an exceedingly human shrug: “Obviously, I love kids — my family demonstrates I practice what I preach. As for my business, well, I’ve wanted to be a solo practitioner for as long as I can remember. I cherish the relationships you develop with patients over a long period of time. My goal, at all costs, was to maintain those relationships — without having the resources of a huge office. And that’s what led me to Mac computers.
“Very early in my solo career, I realized we could do everything far more quickly and efficiently with Mac. And, without a doubt, that’s been the case for 14 years. Through all the changes in technology and medical practice over that time, Macs and PowerBooks enabled me to grow and sustain a small, personal practice that runs extremely efficiently. I’ve never once had to consult an IT person for a computer malfunction or a network snafu. That’s why there are no PCs in this office — nor will there ever be.”
Beat The Clock
Time is a prized commodity for any doctor, and even more precious in a solo practice. So the core of Gallo’s smooth-running office is what he calls “the ultimate time-saver” — MacPractice MD for Mac OS X. “I really can’t imagine my office running without this software,” says Gallo, “and neither can my staff. No matter how complicated the process or the paperwork, MacPractice handles it — often with a single click.”
With its most recent version, MacPractice has created an all-new product that takes full advantage of powerful new features in Mac OS X. “We’re now totally integrated, for instance, with the labs that we use for blood work, pap smears, and such,” says Gallo. Like most small practices, Gallo’s is a managed-care environment where it’s crucial to match patients with labs that take their specific insurance. “With MacPractice — and the bridge that MacPractice has developed with a facility called Enzo Labs — we just enter a patient’s name, and presto: the software prints out a detailed lab slip, tailored to that patient’s specs. If Enzo isn’t her designated provider, it prints out a competitor’s lab slip. So it’s now become a single-click process to route specimens for testing.” Lab results are automatically printed to Gallo’s laser printer each morning, or during the day if they’re needed quickly. He can also access his archive of lab results via a password-protected web page. “It’s a tremendous time-saver for us,” he says.
